Visions Journal

Shayne Williams

Reprinted from the Out of Sight, Out of Mind: The unseen reality of hidden homelessness issue of Visions Journal, 2024, 20 (2), pp. 8-10

Stigma would have us believe that people are homeless because of individual challenges like addictions or precarious mental health. However, the inability to access housing is more complex. It can stem from life events that are far more common. If you’ve fought with your parents, lost a job, been divorced, survived violence, lost people close to you or moved to a new community to get a fresh start, then you’ve experienced just a few ways people end up without a roof over their heads.

As stigma around homelessness makes the causes seem simple, broader structural factors are ignored. Trauma, poverty, systemic inequalities, unemployment and lack of affordable housing are major root causes of homelessness.

In BC, it’s become harder to find housing that is considered affordable (i.e., no more than 30% of your gross household income). In 1992, the federal government ended its co-operative housing program, which had supplied a steady stream of affordable housing nationwide. That course wasn’t corrected until 2016 with the National Housing Strategy, which means we had 25 years of federal abandonment in building much-needed housing. This gap has had a profound effect on Canada’s housing stock that will likely take decades to remedy.

Any level of homelessness will affect people’s social determinants of health. Not having a stable roof over your head—and the safety that comes with that roof—reduces access to:

• health care
• nutrition
• employment
• education
• support networks

When your primary needs are unmet, your priorities can’t extend past seeking basic survival, safety and security. It can be hard to think about reconnecting with family, going to a dentist or getting your prescription filled when you aren’t sure where you will sleep that night.  

Many can face homelessness

Imagine you smoke, have pets, have no rental references, have no substantial savings or you’ve never been taught money management. It’s much harder to afford or find a place to live. This is further complicated when you’re also supporting a family.

Youth who are aging out of care, leaving their family after graduation or choosing independent living over the foster care system make up another subpopulation of people who are dramatically overrepresented in the homeless population. Youth aging out of care frequently lack a deep, natural support network, may have limited life skills and often need to find a job at the same time as housing—all part of their transition to independence.  

Still another group that increasingly experiences homelessness in BC is seniors. Income often decreases as we age and tap into retirement funds or old-age income sources. Seniors also start to lose support networks as people age, fall ill or die. For example, if a senior once shared their living expenses with a partner and that person no longer contributes financially, the senior must find a way to compensate for that missing income or they will no longer be able to afford their housing. If a senior falls ill or needs additional support, accessing expensive health care can also impact their housing stability.

Homelessness in many forms

These life scenarios create the need for people to stay with family or friends, couch surf or access a homeless shelter. The challenge of short-term “solutions” is that they’re hard to move away from when your income is limited. Some borrow money or take out a loan to access housing. However, this can increase their debt and overall risk of homelessness in the long run. If people can’t get access to funds, they need to save up or team up with others. Under extreme pressure, they may turn to alternative, risky lifestyles (day labouring, working under the table, recycling, criminal activity, etc.).

Staying with others can create tension and added stress within a household. Stressors include:

• violence
• power dynamics
• added costs
• less personal space
•  complicated relationships
• added dependents

Beyond couch surfing

Couch surfing is usually very time-limited. Some people eventually resort to alternative housing options, like vehicles, living in boats, RVs, shacks and tents. These temporary spaces are not a substitute for stable housing, but they can be a way for people to get out of the elements and a starting point for their journey to stabilization. The transition can take months or years. The longer folks are unhoused, the harder the road to wellness can be.

Shelters are a major part of our provincial system. A typical stay at an emergency shelter includes 24/7 staff, a bed with linens, three meals daily, showers, laundry and support services. While far from perfect, these programs can provide opportunities and increase a person’s safety if the person can adhere to appropriate communal behaviours and tolerate others accessing the service.

In shelters, people start to create support networks and connections with services, housing options, employers, other guests and staff. For some, personal success in social programs can make it harder to leave, as it is one of the few times they’ve succeeded. Others get stuck because they can’t move directly into traditional market housing. We need more truly affordable and supportive housing options across our country.

Innovative emergency programs are also emerging to fill the gap in affordable housing, like the tiny homes program under BC Housing’s Heart and Hearth framework. Lookout’s Housing and Health Society’s Village in Duncan, BC, is a small community of self-contained pods providing temporary accommodation for 34 individuals.

The pods hold a bed and nightstand. Separate pods have communal showers, washrooms and a staff office. Lookout offers 24/7 staffing to support residents with goal setting, one-on-one case planning and options to further their journey to stabilization and wellness. The tiny homes model is a quick and different way to provide stabilization and safety for residents. However, it does not replace the need for self-contained housing. It’s a stepping stone.

We are individuals and so are the life journeys we lead. With the range of people experiencing homelessness, the inability to access housing cannot be reduced to a singular set of individual challenges. Homelessness is also not only the responsibility of the individual. It requires an understanding of larger systemic issues and the barriers and complicated interventions people must navigate to overcome them.

We are not all equipped with the same level of access, privilege or understanding, which, in itself, explains the need for an array of approaches to end homelessness.

Related Resources

For more on the pods at The Village, in Duncan, BC, see: letstalkhousingbc.ca/duncan-trunk-road